Children's Home run by Positive Pathways Limited in Birmingham

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people benefit from a stable and committed staff team who work hard to ensure each young person is settled, happy and achieving their potential.  Young people make excellent progress in reducing their risk taking behaviours.  Relationships between staff and young people are strong.  Difficult behaviours are managed sensitively, with physical intervention rarely used.  Young people’s attendance and engagement with education improves significantly.  Parents report positive relationships with staff and good communication.  The home has strong links with external agencies.  There are a few shortfalls. These include; repairs to bedrooms have not been sufficiently prioritised, young people views are not consistently considered in the day-to-day routine of the home and are not supported to develop their interests in the community.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard the registered person must ensure that they -

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Requirement Due date

2(b(vii)) provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably

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Requirement Due date

(ix) make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice, with particular reference to bedtimes. 11/01/16

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the enjoyment and achievement standard the registered person must ensure that staff help each child to

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Requirement Due date

2(a)(ii)participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences and

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Requirement Due date

(iii)make a positive contribution to the home and wider community 11/01/16

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home ,a record is made which includes ;

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Requirement Due date

(b)within 48 hours of use of the measure, the registered person (i)has spoken to the user about the measure and (ii)signed the record to confirm it is accurate and 11/01/16 (c) within 5 days of the use of the measure record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3(a)(b(i)(ii))(c))

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Ensure young people are able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon with particular reference to key-working sessions and children’s meetings. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. The home is operated by a private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

09/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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good

Young people benefit from living in a home that provides high quality of individualised care which supports them making significant progress. As one young person reports ‘I feel really cared for here, by staff who know me well’.

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good

Relationships between staff and young people are strong. Staff care about them and are interested in their welfare. For example, when they return home from school they take a real interest in how their day has been and offer advice with any challenges that they have encountered. Young people who have previous experience of placement disruptions are beginning to develop positive relationships with staff members. In the words of one young person ’living here has helped me trust people again’.

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good

All young people have educational provision that is appropriate for their needs. This is a considerable achievement given some young people have significant histories of non-school engagement before they arrived. Staff and managers have been pro-active in identifying and working with education providers to identify appropriate provision. All are making good educational progress. As a result, young people’s educational attainment has improved.

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good

Staff support young people to access a range of specialist services to ensure their physical, psychological and emotional needs are met. Staff support them to attend appointments and encourage them to engage with health professionals. Some young people have made significant improvements in the stability of their mental health. As one health care professional comments ’staff are very understanding and know how to support her effectively’.

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good

Young people’s meetings are regularly held which provide opportunities for their voices to be heard. Their views are sought about most household routines, activities and menu planning. However, this does not extend to influencing bedtimes routines. This creates a missed opportunity to strengthen young people’s participation in decision making. There is limited active engagement with the local community or opportunities to develop individual interests. This hinders young people in making a valued contribution to their community in which they live and limits opportunities to promote their self-esteem. Staff support young people to remain in contact with people who are significant in their lives, for example previous carers. Parents speak highly of the staff team’s commitment and the progress of their young people. They say they are made to feel welcome and that staff communicate well with them about any concerns. Staff

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good

recognise the importance of young people maintaining relationships with significant people in their lives in a safe and positive way.

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good

Transitions into the home are well managed with great care and sensitivity. Staff effectively manage introductions, visiting and maintaining contact with young people prior to their move and ensuring their bedroom is personalised ready for their arrival.

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good

Young people know how to make a complaint, including the use of external professionals and advocacy services. This helps them to feel confident that any complaints they make will be addressed quickly.

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good

Young people say they feel ‘happy and safe here’. They are confident in staff’s ability to keep them safe. As one young person said,’ they know what to do. They set clear lines to follow and help me develop strategies when I feel like I will self- harm.’ As a result previous risk taking behaviour such as missing from home and self-harm have significantly reduced.

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good

Staff consistently model and promote acceptable behaviour. Risks are well understood and managed with the support of personalised risk management plans. This guides staff to understand young people’s specific vulnerabilities and the challenges they present. Young people respond positively to the patience and support shown by staff to help them resolve conflict and other issues that may concern them. Incidents of bullying are immediately addressed and young people supported to develop skills to appropriately resolve differences. Consequently, young people develop positive insight that enables them to better manage and regulate their behaviour.

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good

As one social worker comments, ’staff provide a consistent approach that is making a positive difference’. As a consequence of this approach, there has been only one physical intervention since the last inspection. Despite this low level, the recording of physical restraint lacks sufficient evaluation. This denies staff and young people the opportunity to reflect and learn from incidents where physical intervention was required. Staff are trained in the complex areas of young people’s presenting behaviours such as self-harm. This means they are equipped and confident to support them to use distraction techniques to manage incidents of self-harm. As a consequence incidents of self-harm have significantly reduced.

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good

Young people benefit from living in a home that has a safe and secure environment. Regular health and safety checks ensure that the equipment works well and fire drills are regularly completed. There is a detailed location risk assessment that highlights risk factors in the surrounding area and indicates how these will be managed.

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good

Staff recruitment and selection practice is robust and well established. Managers ensure that all staff are appropriately qualified, experienced and vetted as suitable to work with young people before starting. This ensures that young people are protected and not exposed to unsuitable adults that may cause them harm.

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requires improvement

The home is in a period of transition following the departure of the previous registered manager in October 2015 and a newly appointed manager taking over. The new manager is appropriately experienced and has just completed her level 5 diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare. She is in the process of submitting her application for registration with Ofsted.

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requires improvement

The manager is reviewing the current internal monitoring systems to ensure the quality of care they deliver to young people is good. These are supported by regular independent monitoring visits which help her to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Shortfalls identified have not always been addressed in a timely way. For example, there has been insufficient priority given to home maintenance. One young person’s bedroom has required remedial work for over two months. This limit young people’s experience and enjoyment of their home.

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requires improvement

The previous registered manager completed a quality of care review before her departure. The new manager has already identified areas for development. This includes improving the empowerment of young people by ensuring their full involvement in their care plans.

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requires improvement

Young people continue to make progress because the staff team are committed and child focused in their practice. The team is consistent and stable. Any vacancies are covered by bank staff who are familiar faces to the young people. They are supported to develop their practice through regular supervision and team meetings. Both of which enable them to reflect on their practice and discuss the progress of young people. In addition to mandatory training, staff have access to relevant specialist training courses, such as self-harm and mental health to further enhance their knowledge and ability to meet the needs of young people placed. This meets the requirement made at the last inspection. This has helped to ensure competent and knowledgeable staff care for young people.

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requires improvement

Staff develop effective relationships with other agencies. All are positive about the commitment and quality of communication they receive from staff. They are committed to ensuring young people receive appropriate services to meet their needs and effectively work alongside health and education colleagues to ensure consistency of care.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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